The Value of a Nice Doll
by Serra-Of-Many-Names
Summary: Guys and Dolls fic. Sarah gets home from a two-month mission trip in Africa, and she and Sky make up for lost time. Meanwhile, Nathan's past catches up with him, endangering more than just his cash. Tad bit of angst in later chapters, with a morphine drip
1. Default Chapter

I cast my gaze over the dock as I stepped from the gangway. My stay in Africa had been enlightening, to say the least. Emotions flooded me even now, and I needed time. Time to think about the past few months, to recover from the devastation and death...  
  
"Sarah!"   
  
Adelaide's nasal voice broke me from my reverie. I smiled as she, in typical passionate form, hugged me. "Hello, Adelaide. It's good to be back."  
  
"It's good to have you back! Sky's been just pathetic, walking around and moaning about how much he misses you. Nathan even said he missed seeing you around, you know. Oh, and Arvide has been simply desolate without you. And the missionaries haven't stopped jabbering that "Sergeant Sarah Masterson's coming back" for weeks! My God, Sarah, don't ever go off to Africa again!"  
  
I chuckled a little and hugged her back. "I can't promise you that, Adelaide, but I'll stay here in New York for at least a while longer." I finally noticed her husband, Nathan, standing behind her and I greeted him with a wave.  
  
"Nice to see you again, Miss Sarah," he said, smiling. "I hope I will be seeing you hunting for sinners again, as soon as you recover from your trip."  
  
"As soon as I can get a decent night's sleep... which won't be too long, I hope." I staggered a little against Adelaide, suddenly remembering how tired I was. I hadn't gotten much sleep on the ship, having been afflicted with an awful case of seasickness, and here it was, almost noon, and I was exhausted. Never mind the time. As soon as I got home I was going to sleep for at least eight hours.  
  
"Ahem. I'd really like to hug my wife, too, if you don't mind..."  
  
Breaking away from my embrace with Adelaide, I leaned against my husband, and he protectively wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "Mmm... hello, Sky." I yawned widely and sighed. "I'm so tired..."   
  
"We'll get you to bed fast." Sky guided me off toward the street as I sleepily waved goodbye to Adelaide and Nathan. I fell asleep in the cab and don't remember a thing after that.


	2. Chapter 2

Word to my reviewer: I can't tell you how surprised I am that someone actually read and reviewed this. So here's a little something for you, guaranteed to be 100 nitpicked.

Disclaimer: (because I forgot it the first time) I don't own Guys and Dolls. If I did, I'd be constructing a living replica of Runyonland and spending the rest of my days there. Also, if anyone can come up with a better title (because, frankly, the one I have here sucks like a brand-new vacuum cleaner), please let me know.

- - -

When I woke up, it was already dark outside. I was in bed, under the covers, and Sky was curled up beside me, fast asleep. I couldn't help smiling at him. Sky Masterson, the highest player in New York, looked so innocent when he was asleep that it was hard to believe he had ever been different. I leaned close and lightly kissed his lips.

A few snuffles brought him back to life, and he began kissing me back. A light smile touched his lips as we parted. "Nice way to wake up."

I laughed softly and pulled him close. "I wouldn't mind waking up like that every day."

"I'll remember that." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just meant to lie down with you for a few minutes... must have been at least a few hours."

"I like having you here." I pulled the covers closer around us—the night had grown considerably cooler while I slept—and kissed him again. "You're warm. Very comfortable."

"My only purpose in life is to make you comfortable? I feel so used," he replied with a mock pout.

"And to be loved by me. That, too."

He placed a soft kiss on my forehead and pulled me close to him, clasping his hands behind my back. "I've missed you. This bed isn't the same when I'm the only person in it." A sudden mischievous look crossed his face, and he abruptly wrapped his arm behind my head and kissed me deeply, running his fingertips lightly up and down my spine. A shudder ran through my body, partly from his touch and partly from my surprise.

When he let me go, I was gasping for breath. A slow smile spread across my face. "Forward tonight, aren't you?"

"That's the other thing I've missed." He grinned and kissed me again--not quite as long this time, but he made his point. I began to undo the buttons on his shirt.

I couldn't help but notice, as our clothes fell away and our bodies intertwined, how many of the nuances of making love to him I had forgotten. The heat of his body, his hands on my bare skin --I remembered that well enough. But I had never really noticed, or taken so much pleasure in, his racing pulse against my lips as I kissed his neck; the feel of his hair as I ran my fingers through his thick, soft locks; the way he looked - so smooth and pale - in the faint glow from the window...or how good he made me feel, beyond physical sensation, beyond carnal desire, because I loved him so much...

Hours later, I lay in his arms, held against his warm, naked body, listening to his slowing heartbeat. He kissed my forehead and brushed a few stray hairs from my cheek, smiling contentedly.

I returned his smile. "I love you."

"Love you too..." he murmured, drifting off into slumber. I kissed him lightly, causing him to smile in his sleep, before laying my head beside his and falling asleep myself.


	3. Chapter 3

As I woke the next morning, I realized he was still clutching me to him, his face against my neck. Smiling, I scratched the back of my half-conscious husband's head and kissed his forehead. "Good morning, love. Sleep well?"

"Hrrm?" he muttered, lifting his head to look at me through half-lidded eyes. "Oh. Yes, very well." His head fell back on the pillow, and he closed his eyes as I kissed him. "That was so good," he whispered sleepily.

"Yes." In avoidance of the morning chill, I pulled the covers around us and snuggled against him. I was a little groggy myself, both from the remaining effects of my journey and what had transpired the night before.

"Let's spend the whole day here, hmm?" he murmured, kissing my forehead. "Do that again, and then rest up from it all day."

I laughed softly. "We'll have to eat."

"So we'll go out for dinner. Order champagne and eat like rich sinners... and then come back here and go back to bed..."

"Sky, stop it!" Laughing at his flights of fancy, I persuaded myself to get up and begin to get dressed. "If I sleep all day I'll never sleep normally again, and you shouldn't spend all day in bed either. Don't you have something to do today?"

"I already told you what I had to do today," he replied stubbornly, punctuating his sentence with a drowsy yawn. "You're ruining it for me."

Returning to the beside, I shoved him lightly in the shoulder. "Get up, put some clothes on, and get your mind out of the gutter. It's already 8 o'clock and I have paperwork to do for the mission."

Sky had barely opened his mouth to utter some sarcastic remark when the phone rang. Grabbing a bathrobe to protect my modesty, I ran to the kitchen to answer it.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end was male, strangely familiar, and decidedly urgent. "Is Sky there?"

"This is his wife. May I ask who's calling, please?"

"It's Nicely-Nicely Johnson... you remember, from the mission? Do you happen to know where Nathan Detroit is?"

"In bed, asleep, I would presume," I replied, confused.

"That's what I thought, but Miss Adelaide didn't show up at the Hot Box for rehearsal this morning--my girlfriend works there and she called me about it--and when I called Nathan to ask him, there was no answer. And his door is locked... Listen, could you just get Sky on the phone?"

Placing my hand over the receiver, I called for Sky. After a brief talk with Nicely, Sky promised to be over right away, hung up the phone, and ran back to the bedroom, throwing on his clothes with unprecedented urgency. "Get dressed," he ordered. "We have to go see what's wrong with Nathan."

I rolled my eyes, exasperated. "Sky, I'm sure they just went out somewhere..."

"It's not like Nathan to be awake before 10 on a Saturday. Come on!" He bolted out the door, leaving me no choice but to follow him.

We arrived a few minutes later at Nathan's apartment. Nicely was waiting for us outside, standing apprehensively on the other side of the hallway. "I knocked on the door, but he didn't answer. I'm afraid something happened to him..."

Sky raised his hand and knocked three times on the door. "Nathan! Are you in there?"

No answer. He pounded the door with all his might. "Nathan! Answer the door!"

There was a faint stirring of something inside, and then a soft, pained moan. "Who is it?"

"It's Sky! Nathan, is that you? Open the door!"

Some shuffling and gasping noises were heard, and in a few moments the door swung open, revealing Nathan slumped face-first on the floor. A long, tapered streak of blood from the center of the room to the door indicated he had to have been crawling his way across the room for quite some time. His face was badly bruised, and his breathing was quick and shallow as though he were still in immense pain.

Before Africa this would have rendered me immobile, but now I immediately dropped to my knees, stilled my shaking hands, and gently lifted his shoulder and pulled back his shirt to look at the wound. There was too much blood to tell immediately what had happened, but I could discern an awful bloody wound across his left shoulder. From the sheer size of it, he had to have been shot. I opened my mouth, but words didn't come; I was too shocked.

"Nicely, call an ambulance," Sky ordered from behind me. When Nicely didn't move, he barked harshly, "Go!"

Nicely ran into the apartment to find a phone. Sky knelt beside me, examining the wound and wiping away some of the blood with his handkerchief, though more of it welled up almost immediately. "Nathan, what happened?" To me he remarked, "Shotgun. Big one, by the looks of it."

"Son of a bitch..." Nathan muttered, his head sinking down as he lost the strength to keep it upright.

"Just relax and tell us who did this," Sky encouraged him.

When he spoke, it was a gasping staccato, and he winced at every breath. "Damn son of a bitch broke into my house and took my wife. I tried to protect her, but I... he hit me a couple of times in the jaw and fired a few shots into my chest. Then I passed out..."

"Shh," Sky whispered, looking at me helplessly. In my state of shock I pressed the heel of my hand down on his shoulder in some desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, thinking too late that this would be painful for him and that there was little, if anything, I could do for him now.

Despite the blunt force on his wound, Nathan only twitched a bit in response. His voice was growing weaker. "...and the next thing I remember is you pounding on the door and yelling. I don't remember getting from there to the door. I remember thinking that maybe I could staunch the bleeding with a towel, but I couldn't make it to the bathroom... and I couldn't get to the phone, because it's way up on the table.."

"That's enough," Sky soothed again. Though I kept my hand against Nathan's shoulder, I felt sick and dizzy now; not only from the sight, but from the thought that someone had broken into a home, half-killed someone I knew, and kidnapped his wife. Hearing of crime rarely shocked me, but I had never had it so close to me, and had certainly never seen a man shot. If it hadn't been for Africa I would have been completely useless.

As I was beginning to waver, I heard footsteps behind me. Sky gently wrapped his arm around my waist and helped me to my feet. "Let's go home," he said.

I looked at my hands, covered in Nathan's blood--blood that had been spilled by an armed criminal who had also stolen his wife. I'd barely passed the doorway when I began vomiting.


End file.
